SC to hear GTA's plea against WB Govt.

New Delhi [India], Apr 21 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday will hear the plea filed by Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) against the West Bengal government. The GTA had challenged the petition in the apex court regarding the state government's order in which it had not given the power for discharging its administrative charges. Earlier in the month, the apex court had postponed the matter till the Centre and West Bengal Government sought more time to file their replies on the same. The apex court had also issued a notice to the West Bengal Government on the petition filed by GTA challenging refusal to transfer administrative power to it. An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar, who then issued notice to the West Bengal Government, sought a reply from it. The petition filed by GTA member Binay Tamang in September last year claimed that the state government's decision was "impinging upon the fundamental rights of the Gorkha people living in the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling." The bench headed by the then Chief Justice T. S. Thakur had asked for the 2011 notification issued by the West Bengal Government promising transfer of power in terms of a memorandum of agreement (MoU) to be presented before the court. However, the officials had then said that the petition alleging the state government's refusal to transfer administrative power was misleading. (ANI)